Morris County developer convicted of tax evasion to be paroled from federal prison

ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP — Morton Salkind, the Morris County developer and one-term state assemblyman convicted of tax evasion, will be released Sept. 29, after serving 366 days in federal prison.

On Aug. 25, Salkind, 78, was moved from Butner Federal Corrections Complex in North Carolina to a halfway house where he will serve out the rest of his sentence. After his release, Salkind will be subject to supervised probation for two years.

“He is in a halfway house and then the U.S. Probation Service takes over for two years,” said Edmond Ross, spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. “They may require urine or drug testing and speaking to a probation officer.”

Salkind was the head developer of Fox Development and oversaw the construction of 672 condominium units at Fox Hills, a senior residential community in Rockaway Township.

Salkind pleaded guilty in May 2008 to evading $276,000 in taxes in connection with Fox Hills.

His agreement with prosecutors required him to pay the Internal Revenue Service $17.5 million in back taxes, interest and penalties for 2001 through 2005.

Salkind, a former mayor of Manalapan who served one term in the state Assembly, had faced up to two years in prison as part of his plea deal, but in August 2009 U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh handed down a one-year sentence and imposed a $30,000 fine.

The case became an issue in the 2009 governor’s race after a developer filed a lawsuit alleging special treatment for Salkind because the law firm representing Salkind was headed by an ex-federal judge with ties to then-gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. Federal prosecutors and Salkind’s lawyers said Christie was not involved.